An Unexpected Reunion
by Nuum
Summary: A story about my ESO character, Muz-Ja/Snow-On-Scales, with no real direction. She loves girls and is very shy. (This is my first fic and it's still a WIP, I hope you enjoy it!)
1. Chapter 1 - Bad Memories

Her tail softly bounced up and down on the guar's back as it strode along a small, muddy path. Most would find the swarms of insects, damp air, and dangerous conditions of Argonia quite hellish – but it was her home. As the two approached the small mud house, the guar let out a small huff.

"I know, I know. We're almost there." She said, softly patting the guar's speckled green head. Stopping in the yard, the weary Argonian slid off, feeding him a small handful of grass. Slowly opening the door, she stumbled inside, barely having time to undress before collapsing into sleep on her reed-woven bed.

The horns of battle blared loudly in her ears, mixed with the shouts of men and mer alike and the harsh, ringing sounds made as blade met blade. She found herself lying on her back, face-up, before a massive giant of a man suddenly appeared over her.

"Come on, get up! You're going to get trampled!" He said frantically as he yanked her from the dirt, which now covered her. As soon as she was back on her feet she had a sword in her hand, and was charging forth to meet the enemy once more. But, aside from her disorientation, she felt… different - not like herself. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she kept running and nearly ran right past a short, stout Bosmer. They fought for what felt like hours, until she finally had the upper hand. Kicking him to the ground, she was about to deliver the final blow. Then, she heard a whistling, before a sharp, piercing pain struck her side. Looking down, her mind already starting to cloud, she could barely make out the shape of the arrow embedded in her chest, before falling to the ground. As she looked at the sky for the last time, a gilded boot suddenly appeared over her face.

Muz-Ja awoke covered in a cold sweat, breathing quickly and, for a moment, frantically looking around her small room as if still in combat. Taking a moment to compose herself, she looked at the window, and the beams of morning sunlight filtering through the leather curtains. Realizing the time, she quickly leapt out of bed and slipped into her sage green shirt, dark breeches, and equally dark leather boots. Grabbing her staff off of the wall she quickly ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Sprinting down the mist-covered early morning streets of Stormhold, she arrived at the large Ayleid ruins housing the Mage's Guild out of breath, before descending the long, stone stairwell into the main chamber. Greeting the tired Argonian was her - Mileeta Maggulus, Master Wizard of Stormhold, and Muz-Ja's mentor. Tail swishing across the floor slowly, she suddenly stood up from the small wooden stool on which she was sitting.

"Finally! I was starting to get scared! Are you okay? This is pretty late, even for you, and I-" She paused, looking at the exhausted girl.

"You were asleep, weren't you?" She said, crossing her arms with a questioning expression.

"No! I, uh…." Muz-Ja paused, trying to think of an excuse, before sighing and looking down at the mossy stone floor.

"…yes, I was asleep. I didn't mean to be though!".

Giving her a questioning look before waving away the thought and turning around to walk away, she replied "Well, no matter. Let's get started!"


	2. Chapter 2 - Not Exactly Professional

Now that she was fully awake, Muz-Ja was buzzing with excitement and anticipation of the day's events, trying to push her dream to the back of her mind.

"Well, what are we doing today?"

"Today, we're learning the basics of alchemy. Although I'm sure you most likely you're already well aware of such things, it's a tradition." said the tall, dark-scaled Argonian, walking at a slow, but deliberate pace.

"After that, I'm going to have you practice your storm magic. You certainly have potential, but I don't want any accidents like last time". Muz-Ja's pale cheeked flushed red with the memory. A week prior, while trying to cast a simple storm spell, she missed a shot and nearly shocked a nearby guar half to death.

"Of course not." She said quietly.

Despite her skill, the alchemy lab of the Stormhold Mage's Guild was a drab place indeed - a small room, with stone slabs for tables on an ever-damp cold stone floor, lit only by a few hanging lanterns.

After a short lesson on the basics of potion-making, the two sat as they waited for the sample Muz-Ja had made to finish boiling. Sitting with her face in her arms, her mind began to wander away from the task at hand - back to her dream. It had all felt so real, it was almost like she was really there. The cacophony of battle, the beating sun, the air that seemed more dust than oxygen, all of it.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her daze when Mileeta spoke up. "Well, why _were_ you late today? I know you were asleep, but it seems unlike you. Did something happen?"

Coming back to reality, she looked up. "Oh, uh.. It was nothing. Just a bad dream."

"A nightmare? About what?". The master wizard looked at her intently, seemingly concerned.

Muz-Ja gazed at the dissolving particles in the glass bottle, thinking of a response, her tail swishing quietly back and forth along the floor. "My sister."

She leaned forwards a bit, looking intently at her with a concerned expression. "Oh? What about her?" She asked.

Muz-Ja sighed softly, her eyes drifting from the bottle to the floor. "Her death. She was a soldier for the Pact in Cyrodiil - struck down by an elf."

At this, a large frown grew across Mileeta's face. "Oh… I'm so sorry, I didn't know. When did it happen?"

"Last year - I wasn't even there. But in the dream, I was in her place. It all felt so real, like _I_ was the one being killed. I don't know. I guess the Hist decided it was time to reclaim her." She replied, glassy-eyed.

After looking at the stone tabletop for a short while, Mileeta wordlessly got up, walked over to Muz-Ja, got on her knees, and embraced her gently. Muz-Ja's face flushed red once again at this, and, after wiping away a few small tears, she returned the embrace with a small smile.

They kept hugging for a while until they were both startled by the high, shrieking sound of the water in the bottle beginning to boil. Muz-Ja quickly unclasped her arms and stood, quickly grabbing a pair of tongs and moving the bottle to its holder as she put out the small, magical fire beneath it. Breathing a sigh of relief, she put down the tongs and sat back down, waiting for the potion to cool.

"Sorry about that, I didn't want anything bad to happen."

"Don't be," Mileeta smiled. "You did very well, good reflexes are a vital resource."

 _I'm just thankful it didn't blow up_ , she thought to herself. Quickly cooling the potion with a bit of frost magic, she raised it to her lips and took a sip. It tasted bitter and terrible, but she smiled at the excited looking Muz-Ja.

"How is it?" Asked the eager apprentice.

"It's perfect." she said, trying hard not to scrunch her face in disgust at the taste. "Well, shall we move on?"

It was now about noon, and the two were standing in a secluded room in the Mage's Guild. Muz-Ja trembled slightly and held her breath, trying to focus on her target. Grasping her staff, she finally thrust it forward, and a bright arc of white-blue lightning erupted from the end, flying through the air before striking the straw dummy, shaking it with a crackle as the lightning continued to flow for about two seconds before fizzling out.

"Kaoc! Why can't I concentrate?" She said through bared teeth, stomping her foot harshly.

Putting her hands on Muz-Ja's shoulders, Mileeta looked her in the eyes.

"Muz-Ja, you have to _relax_. Being angry will solve nothing. Act as a conduit for the lightning. Be the fish in the river, not the stone."

"Okay. Thank you." Muz-Ja replied, nodding softly.

She faced the singed dummy again, planting her feet on the ground and taking a deep breath. She tried again, seemingly staring _through_ the target as she concentrated. This time she kept it up for a whole minute, before the dummy promptly collapsed into a pile of ash. Mileeta grinned wide and began to clap.

"Very good! I knew you could do it!" She said, beaming at the tired Muz-Ja. "I think that's enough training for today."


	3. Chapter 3 - A Proposal

Things continued for the next month in much the same way, until one morning.

As Muz-Ja sauntered down the stairs, ready for instruction, her mind buzzed with the tasks of the day. Upon her arrival, however, the table where Mileeta normally sat and waited sat empty - she was nowhere to be seen.

This worried her greatly, and she spent what felt like an hour searching around for her before stumbling onto her quarters. There, she found her - rifling through a large trunk, back turned to the door.

"Uh.. Hello?" Muz-Ja said tentatively, poking her head around the doorway and into Mileeta's room.

"Oh, hello Muz." she said, a tired, sleepless look in her eyes. "Come in, I have something to tell you." She beckoned Muz-Ja in with a slight wave of her hand, sitting on the foot of her bed whilst still going through the chest, full of various clothes.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Muz-Ja said, sitting next to her and twiddling her thumbs anxiously.

"No, nothing's wrong. I do have something to tell you, though." She replied, stuffing a small necklace into the trunk.

"What is it?" Muz-Ja asked inquisitively. She took a long breath and sighed. "Well, I recieved a message last night from Vicecanon Heita-Meen. She wishes for me to help our soldiers in Cyrodiil for a while.

Muz-Ja gasped softly, and a look of both sadness and worry moved onto her face. "So.. you're leaving then..?" She said.

"Yes. But…" Mileeta took a moment to think of what to say.

"But what?" Asked Muz-Ja, now more inquisitive than ever.

"...I was wondering if you'd want to come with me. It'd be a great chance to teach you more and I don't want to just leave you here." She said, smiling softly.

A grin quickly replaced Muz-Ja's worry, as she bounced up and quickly wrapped Mileeta in a tight hug. "Of course! Thank you so much! When are we leaving? Should I start packing?" She said, practically vibrating with excitement.

Smiling and laughing softly, Mileeta replied "Yes, I'm giving you the day off to get ready. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

And with that, after one final squeeze, Muz-Ja was up the steps and out the door.

Later that day, she had almost finished packing. Her clothes were neatly arranged in a medium-sized wooden trunk, as well as her alchemical supplies, and a few blankets.

After finishing this, she decided to spend the rest of the day fishing in the small pond by her house. As she sat on a root, feet dangling just above the water, her pole cast out, she began to think. Unable to take her mind off of the coming journey, she started to think about all the trouble that could befall them - or more specifically, Mileeta. Bandits, wild animals, Covenant or Dominion troops, rogue mages, and other possible dangers all swirled through her mind. It seemed, although she didn't realize it, that she was actually more worried for her mentor and friend than for herself.

Unwillingly, her mind eventually began to drift back to her dream. She'd spent all month trying to repress it, but it still hadn't left her mind. This started to make her more and more worried. "What if what happened to my sister happens to me? Or to Mileeta?" She thought to herself, trying not to imagine such a scenario. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the sun beginning to set as the marsh came alive with the songs of a multitude of insects. She was only snapped out of her thoughts when a fish finally took the bait and yanked it off the hook, which was subsequently pulled out of her hands and into the dark, murky water.

"I think that's enough for today." She said to nobody in particular, sighing and standing up before walking back to the house.

Once there, she promptly undressed, curled up in her bed, and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Revelation

The two Guar walked slowly along the overgrown dirt road, their riders trying their hardest not to fall asleep in the muggy heat while their bags bounced softly with every step. They had been riding for what felt like an entire day before they finally reached the Imperial province - Cyrodiil.

Soon enough, night was falling again, and as the sun began its descent in the sky, Mileeta broke herself out of her sleepy daze. Beside her, though, Muz-Ja lay asleep on her Guar, her head resting on top of his and her limbs dangling off the sides. She smiled at this, and decided to start looking for a place to stop for the night. Soon enough, she spied a small semicircle of gnarled trees, surrounding an area of pressed-down, dead grass. She stopped and hitched the Guars, Neren and Deejhaz, to a nearby tree before slipping off and walking over to Neren, upon which Muz-Ja laid.

Tapping her shoulder gently, Mileeta crooned "Muz-Ja, wake uuuup.."

She jolted awake, frightening Neren and falling off in her confusion, before landing face-up in the dust.

She sat up and rubbed her head, blushing profusely as she apologized. "Sorry! I really shouldn't have fallen asleep, but it was so hard not to-"

She was interrupted by Mileeta's calm voice. "Don't be dear - I almost did too." She said, offering her hand to help up the dusty Argonian.

Mileeta walked over to the center of the small dirt clearing, picking up sticks as she went. "Help me get a fire started, will you? We need wood."

"Of course, no problem!" Muz-Ja replied enthusiastically, who quickly got up and walked into the nearby bushes, tossing sticks and other kindling into the clearing.

Suddenly, she stopped.

Mileeta was sitting in the clearing, looking through her trunk for the flint and steel she'd packed. Before long, though, she noticed the silence.

"Muz-Ja?" She called out, to no response. She got up slowly, and walked towards the bushes where she'd been gathering firewood, only to be suddenly pulled into a bush and have a hand clamped over her mouth.

She immediately recognized the white-scaled Argonian silencing her, and relaxed. After a moment, Muz-Ja averted her gaze from something beyond the bush and held one finger up to her mouth, telling her to be quiet. She then removed her hand from her mouth and whispered "Be... very... quiet...", before making a small beckoning motion with her hand.

Mileeta crawled over, trying to be as quiet as possible. The wide-eyed Muz-Ja pointed at a small hole in the shrub, not averting her stare from whatever was scaring her so much. Looking through it, she saw now saw what warranted the silence.

About 20 feet away was a tall, heavily-muscled Minotaur - and it was wandering right towards them.

Even from their distance they could hear its snuffling - male or female, it was impossible to tell. As Mileeta looked over at her, Muz-Ja's face was drained of color, somehow appearing even paler with fear. The two spent what felt like hours just staring at it and watching its movements - just hoping it didn't notice them.

As they stared, a squirrel scampered through the brush near them, breaking the silence the had been enveloping them. Somehow hearing the minute noise, the angry-looking beast turned to look for the source of the noise. Seemingly finding it, it began to walk - right towards them.

Just then, one of the Guar sneezed, and the beast let out a loud bellow. Lowering its head to the ground, it began to charge - rushing forward, horns facing straight ahead, on a path to the offending Guar which would coincidentally pass _right through their bush_.

Suddenly, seemingly by impulse, Muz-Ja jumped up, out of the bush, as her arm shot out in front of her. From her fingertips, a green vaporous ball appeared, and flew towards the Minotaur, making contact with its head. As soon as it touched the beast, its whole body, save for its eyes, stiffened like freezing water, and fell to the leaf-covered floor. Still angrily bellowing and trying its hardest to move, Mileeta snapped out of her fear-induced trance and stood up, firing lightning at the paralyzed creature until it was reduced to ash.

The moon was rising, and the campfire's first sparks were greedily enveloping the dry wood, spreading and multiplying into a real fire. Muz-Ja sat beside it, proud of her creation.

"Did you bring a tent?" Mileeta asked, unhooking her bag from Deejhaz's saddle and placing it on the ground.

Muz-Ja tensed up, realizing her mistake. "I was supposed to..? I didn't think it'd take up more than a day to get there.."

Realizing her naiveté, Mileeta chuckled softly. "It's okay sweetheart. You can stay in mine with me - I think it's big enough for the both of us."

Later that night, as they both lay side by side, Muz-Ja stared at the tent ceiling while listening to Mileeta's soft snoring. " _Dear? Sweetheart? Does this mean what I think it means, or am I just imagining it?_ " She thought to herself. Suddenly, she remembered the hug she received when talking about her nightmare, and how kind and caring Mileeta had always been with her in relation to the air of authority she gives off to others, including Muz-Ja when they first met. " _Has she liked me from the beginning, and is just now starting to make her intentions known? Has she been trying to and I just haven't been noticing?_ "

She pondered this for a while, before eventually falling asleep to the sounds of gentle snores and nighttime bugsong filling her ears.


	5. Chapter 5 - Two Enter

Early the next morning, Muz-Ja awoke to a something unexpected. As they slept, Mileeta had rolled over and wrapped her arms around her stomach, pulling the shorter Argonian towards her warm body slightly. Muz-Ja got up, slowly and gently moving Mileeta's arms before getting dressed and stepping out of the tent. As soon as she did, a blast of cold air hit her, making her shiver.

" _How could anyone live here? So dry and cold…_ " She thought to herself, absentmindedly feeding a few long stalks of grass to Neren.

Soon, she got to work making breakfast for the two of them, cracking a few small eggs she'd found in the bushes. Not too long after, Mileeta emerged from the tent, dressed in an elegant dark robe.

"Already prepared to go, I see?" She said, cracking a smile.

"Yea, I woke up a bit early and figured that the earlier we get there, the better. Right?" Muz-Ja replied, squatting by the small fire and holding her arms close to herself, trying to shrink into the warmth of her clothes.

"Exactly." She said, sitting down next to her.

They were soon off again, the two Guar plodding down the dirt road, which was now covered in early-morning dew.

Muz-Ja grumbled to herself, as Mileeta looked over a map for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. "Are we almost there? It's freezing..." She asked crankily, looking over at her occupied companion.

Without looking up, she replied "Yes. We should arrive at the Northern Morrowind Gate in about an hour. Then, we'll have to meet with General Valren and we'll get our orders."

This satisfied Muz-Ja, who began to look into the morning mist by the roadside and think about that which she'd thought about the night before, only breaking out of it every once in a while to give Neren a prod to keep him on-track or a pat to tell him to speed up. She wondered - although she certainly had _those_ kind of feelings for Mileeta, did she share the same sentiment?

Soon enough, they finally reached their destination - a Pact war camp. As they rode past two chilly-looking Dunmer guards standing at the gate in full armor and through the stockade, Muz-Ja noticed row upon row of tents, presumably belonging to the soldiers, with one larger command tent in the center and a row of siege weapons against the opposite wall. Hitching the Guar to small posts near the tent, Mileeta turned to Muz-Ja and pointed behind the girl.

"It seems the General has requested to see me alone. Why don't you go wait with those soldiers over there, maybe get to know the place a bit? This is probably where we'll be staying."

Muz-Ja nodded softly and looked behind her to where she was pointing. There, around a campfire, sat a group of rowdy, mostly shirtless and very obviously drunk, Nords. With them were a few Dunmer, sitting in a small, irritated looking cluster, chatting amongst themselves quietly.

 _How do those Nords handle the cold like this? It seems like they don't even notice…_ She thought to herself, approaching them

As she arrived, all eyes turned to her. Almost immediately, a giant Nord stumbled up to her with a greeting.

"Hello, scale-friend!" He near-yelled, thrusting a mug of mead into her hand. She took it with a bit of hesitation, sitting down as their attention soon shifted back to whatever drunken song they were singing. She'd only ever met a couple Nords in her life, and never any as rowdy as these. She could still feel the Dunmer group's disdaining eyes on her, and she tried to look away as she crossed her legs and held the mug up to her mouth, feigning drinking. Just as suddenly as she was greeted, a drunken fistfight broke out among the group of Nords.

Taken aback by this, she finally spoke up. "What's going on!? Is nobody going to stop them?"

One of the Dunmer men promptly leaned over, away from the group, and said quietly "There's no point. They're Nords."

"What do you mean?" She replied, anxiously.

"Nords are constantly inebriated, and love to fight. It's what they do. Besides - they can't do too much damage anyways." He said, obvious disdain in his voice.

This quieted her, and she watched them brawl for a few more minutes until they both eventually got tired, and went back to singing.


	6. Chapter 6 - One Leaves

Soon, Muz-Ja received a tap on the shoulder. It was, of course, Mileeta - back from her meeting with General Valren. Following her over to a small unoccupied bench, the two sat, worried looks on both of their faces.

"Well? What did he say?" Muz-Ja asked anxiously, a twinge of fear in her voice.

Mileeta let out a long sigh, looking down and closing her eyes. "He said that he wants me to report to the Temple of Chim, to protect the Elder Scroll there."

"Oh…" Muz-Ja said sadly, frowning and looking down at her feet, small tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

"I know. I feel the same way - I'm sorry. I tried to persuade him to let me stay here with you, but he refused."

Suddenly, Muz-Ja wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in her shoulder, crying softly. "I-I'm gonna be alone, and you might get hurt, and so many bad things might happen.." She said, quickly devolving into barely audible cry-talking. With a frown, Mileeta wrapped her arms around Muz-Ja in kind, running a hand along the row of feathers on her head, holding her head to her shoulder whispering reassuringly - a few tears starting to form in her eyes as well.

"Shhh, it's okay.. it's okay.." She said quietly, trying her best to calm the blubbering girl.

After a couple minutes, Muz-Ja released her grip and sat up, wiping away her tears with her sleeve. She looked at Mileeta, bleary-eyed.

"What am I going to do?" She asked, sniffling.

"I made sure you have a room in the mage's barracks, and a practice area all to yourself. You're going to have a lot of free time, although the General may have a few errands for you from time to time. Ready to go?" Mileeta replied, giving a faint smile to try and encourage her.

. Muz-Ja nodded,a few tears still running down her cheeks. As they both stood up, Mileeta suddenly paused.

"Wait," She said, rummaging around in her satchel before pulling out a small, ornately bound blue book, titled _Herbs of Tamriel_. "I wanted you to have this."

A tiny smile came over Muz-Ja's face as she took the book, and, after stowing it away in her pocket, she wrapped up Mileeta in another hug.

They spent the rest of the day doing training, much as they had back in Stormhold. By now Muz-Ja had mastered basic destruction spells and the use of her staff - a long piece of dark wood tipped with a metal crescent moon, made in the Khajiiti style.

Soon enough, night began to fall.

 _Too soon._ Muz-Ja thought, not wanting to have to say goodbye.

After finishing up their last round of instruction, they began to walk to the Mage's Barracks. It was a tower, likely the tallest in the entire camp, and had a commanding view over the area. Inside was no less impressive, being equipped with a library, enchanting stations, and alchemy labs all lit by floating magic orbs in a myriad of colors.

Their room was on the fourth floor, and after the long trek up the stairs to it, combined with the day's work, they were both thoroughly exhausted. As Muz-Ja sat down and took off her boots, she noticed that Mileeta has already begun to undress. As her robe slid off of the slight curves of her body and onto the floor, Muz-Ja couldn't help but watch. She had to force herself to focus on what she was doing, and quickly undressed herself, climbing into the room's one small bed with her.

The room itself, bathed in the warm glow of the magic spheres, was just as small, with the only other furnishings being a chest at the foot of the bed, a small desk at the far end of the room, a wardrobe, and a bedside table. As they both climbed into bed, Muz-Ja reached up to a small rune on the wall. As she tapped it, the floating magelights slowly flickered out one by one, until the room was awash in darkness.

An hour later, she could tell Mileeta still wasn't asleep. She kept tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable position. Then, still pretending to be sleeping, Muz-Ja took a leap of faith - wrapping her arms around her stomach gently and pulling slightly, moving her closer. After a moment of waiting that felt like an eternity, her action paid off, and Mileeta scooted closer, the two now pressed up against each other in the cold room. Soon, both of them were sound asleep.

Muz-Ja awoke to an empty, cold bed. Quickly sitting up and reactivating the magelights, she saw that the blanket had been moved away on the opposite side of the bed, and that Mileeta's robe was so longer folded over the chair across the room, as it had been the night before. She frowned, but she knew well what had happened.

Something new was present in the room, however - a small stack of books on the bedside table. These included a book on storm magic, the alchemy book Mileeta had given her yesterday, and _A_ _Compendium of Nibenese oysters_ , for whatever reason. With a sigh she cocooned herself in the blanket, set the books on her bed, and began to read.


	7. Chapter 7 - Yes

She read for hours, poring over every page. As it turned out, Mileeta had actually written _Herbs of Tamriel_ herself! Muz-Ja never knew she was so interested in the subject. As soon as she finished it, she began to read the _Compendium of Nibenese Oysters_ , saving the Destruction book for training. The tome was, as suggested by the title, long, boring, and academic to the point of unreadability.

However, as she read the first page, she noticed the corner of a small piece of parchment sticking up from the brown, aged pages. As she pulled it out, she recognized Mileeta's swooping handwriting almost immediately.

" _Muz-Ja,_

I'm sorry I had to leave. I really didn't want to. I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but I wanted to be able to let you know how I feel before I do. Honestly, being your friend and watching you grow has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I'm really not sure how I even functioned without you in my life - you're one of the kindest and most supportive people I've ever met. You're like the water to my mud. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am. Anyways, I've had this question on my mind for a while now, and I can't think of any other way to ask it.

Would you be mine?

 _Sincerely,_

 _Mileeta"_

She reread the letter over and over again, her entire face flushed red. After about 5 minutes of this she held it to her chest and a giant smile spread across her face, the pain of her leaving having been all but ejected from her mind. She jumped out of bed soon after, quickly slipping into a silken top, pants far too large for her small frame, tucked into a pair of sturdy Orcish boots. Immediately she plopped herself down at her desk, and feverishly wrote a response.

"Yes."


	8. Chapter 8 - Called to Attention

Slipping _A Beginner's Guide to Storm Magic_ and _Herbs of Tamriel_ into her satchel, Muz-Ja quickly gathered the rest of her things. She rushed out the door, slamming it in her excitement. Hearing her rapid footfalls down the long, winding stone staircase, she wouldn't be surprised if this is the fastest she'd ever moved. Bursting out the heavy wooden door into the crisp morning air, she glanced around for a few moments before spotting a Dunmer courier milling about. Without further thought she ran towards him and grabbed him, yanking his shirt a bit as she spoke.

" _You_. Can you deliver this message for me?" She said breathlessly, thrusting the pristinely-pressed letter in his face.

He looked startled to say the least, although whether it was from her feverish state or from her being an Argonian, she wasn't sure.

"To?" He said, after taking a second to find his voice.

"Master Wizard Mileeta at, uh.. um… The Temple of Chim? Chime? You know what I mean, just go!" she replied, shaking him a bit more in her excitement before releasing her iron grip on his shirt.

Without saying another word, he quickly ran to his horse and jumped on, riding away down the dirt road - likely more out of a desire to get away from Muz-Ja than to actually deliver the message.

Now left to her own devices and with nothing to do, Muz-Ja decided to wander the camp in search of anything interesting.

To her relief, as she walked she spotted what seemed to be a cluster of fellow Argonians sitting and chatting around a campfire. Happy to see other members of her species, she decided to join them. As she approached, she drew many stares. These were mainly directed at her clothes, the fancy mage-y clothing a stark contrast to the worn leather and furs worn by most of the soldiers. They welcomed her soon enough, though, and she sat down with them. The apparent leader of the group was a giant for an Argonian, with dark green scales, pale blue eyes, a muscled body, and many horns jutting forwards from the top of his head.

He shook her hand roughly, and her arm was jerked up and down by the sheer force as he introduced himself in Jel. "I'm Hathum - welcome to the group. It's nice to see another Saxhleel in the camp."

Muz-Ja nodded, smiling. "Indeed it is. You all are the first ones I've seen here, other than myself. Are you the only ones?" She replied, slipping into Jel herself.

"Sadly, yes. Most of our brothers and sisters are fighting farther to the south, or helping to guard Pact cities." He said, with a hint of regret in his voice. "Between the drunken Nords and mostly-Dres Dunmer, this camp isn't the best place for Saxhleel like us. Most of the Dunmer here are still used to seeing our people as slaves - little more than animals, if at all."

 _So that's why the group got so silent when I sat with them_. She thought to herself, shaking her head in disdain. _I'm surprised one of them even talked to me at all._

"My apologies, but I've got to get to training. Talk later?" She asked, giving him a toothy smile.

"Of course. May the Hist embrace you." He replied, turning back to the group as she stood up.

Interrupting her quiet walk towards her training area, _another_ courier approached her - this time a young, blonde Nord girl, appearing to be not much older than herself.

"Hello! Are you Snow-On-Scales?" She asked, standing at attention.

This was the name she normally used to introduce herself to non-Argonians, as most other races have difficulty or simply don't enjoy pronouncing Argonian names properly.

"Yes, that's me. What is it?" She replied, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot in slight annoyance at this unforeseen obstruction.

"General Valren wishes to see you, miss!" She said perkily. "By the way - I'm Threnhilde. It's an honor to meet you! There's been a lot of talk around camp about you." She said, seemingly transfixed by the row of silky black feathers along the top of Muz-Ja's head.

"Oh? Why?" Muz-Ja replied, both intrigued and worried.

"It's not every day you see an Argonian mage - not that I think your kind are stupid or anything, just.. Agh, nevermind. You certainly stand out." She said, her eyes shifting to to ice-white scales covering Muz-Ja's body as she remembered how her brother used to always lock himself in his room with some book about an Argonian servant, or something of the sort.

After staring for a moment, she snapped herself back to the present. "Well, I've 'ought to be going now. If any of those fancy little Dark Elves bother you, let me know and I'll teach 'em not to!"

Quickly giving a small salute in the form of a fist over her chest, she ran off, leaving Muz-Ja mildly annoyed but also glad for her support. As ignorant as she might be, it was reassuring to know that at least she cared. With that over with, she redirected her course to the command tent. Situated on a small hill overlooking its surroundings, it was easily the largest tent in the camp, made from sturdy canvas and held up by several wooden poles.

As she parted the divider covering the entryway, she took note of the interior. The tent felt much smaller than it appeared from the outside, and the room was situated around a large table in its center, upon which was a large map of cyrodiil, with many red, green, and blue pins sticking out of it. The floor, as well as the ground just outside the entryway, was covered with intricate rugs of all sorts. The only other piece of furniture in the tent was an equally intricate looking chair, in which sat the stressed-looking General Valren.

He was a Dunmer of about 40 or 50 years old, although it was impossible to tell most of the time with elves - they could be 30, or 300. Dressed in the recognizable bonemold armor characteristic of a House Redoran commander, he had large, blood red eyes set far back in his head, accompanied by a long nose, ashen gray skin, and short hair cropped close to his head.

"Oh, hello. I presume you received my summons?" He said, looking up from the map which he'd been intensely studying.

Muz-Ja nodded. "Yes, I did. What do you need?"

He sighed, withdrawing a small note from his pocket and holding it out to her. "Here. I need these regents by the end of the day. I'm sure you're perfectly capable, just don't wander too far from camp, and… try not to touch them too much." He said, glancing at her scaly, clawed hands. "Got it?"

She nodded again, taking the note. "Yes.. sir?" She'd never had to speak to a commander before. What was she supposed to call him? Sir? Commander? She wasn't sure.

"Good. Now go, I've got other business to attend to." He said, shooing her away with a hand motion.

 _Racist._ She thought to herself, walking out of the tent and sitting down on a stump by the side of the dirt path running through the camp. Holding the crisp slip of paper in her hands, she read through the list several times.

 _\- Dragon's Tongue (5)_

 _\- Fly amanita Cap (3)_

 _\- Lavender Cuttings (10)_

 _\- Primrose Leaves (30)_

 _\- Nirnroot (1)_


	9. Chapter 9 - Bamboo-zled

Despite the cover provided by the forest canopy, Muz-Ja could still feel the angry Cyrodiilic sun beating down on her as she walked. She'd found every regent she needed except for one - Nirnroot. She'd been looking for at least an hour, but couldn't find one trace it. Frustrated, she leaned against a tree and rummaged through her satchel, pulling out _Herbs of Tamriel_. She began to rifle through it.

 _Ambrosia... Glowdust... ah! Nirnroot!_ She thought, flipping to the page containing its description.

 _Nirnroot: A very rare plant that grows near water. It gives off a low hum when nearby and has amazing magical potential. Originally yellow-leaved, the plant mutated drastically during the Sun's Death event of 1E 668. Due to its magical nature, it sensed as a species its impending extinction and used the ash salts found falling from the sky as a new source of food. This allowed the plant to live without sunlight. As the ash content of Cyrodiil's soils diminished, so too did the plant's numbers and it is once again on the brink of extinction._

Quickly closing the book and returning it to her bag, she started walking in the direction she'd come - she'd crossed a tiny stream about 10 minutes prior, and figured that'd be the best place to look.

As she arrived, she almost instantly heard a low, wavering humming noise further upstream. Delighted, she ran towards the source of the noise until reaching the bottom of a high cliff. As soon as she arrived, she realized the humming had stopped. Before she could react, though, the wind was knocked out of her by a quick punch from behind, and a bag thrown over her head as she fell to the ground, quickly blacking out.


	10. Chapter 10 - Catnap

The sun shone warm on Daro's fur, making it gleam like early morning sunlight on freshly-fallen snow, only broken up by the small black rings patterning her entire body. She was supposed to be on guard duty, but the patch of warm Cyrodiilic sunlight was simply too much for her to resist. She was only awoken by the sound of an approaching cart, a small breeze flowing through the small mane of black hair running down the center of her head. She opened her eyes sleepily and sat up, leaning against the fort wall as she struggled to keep her eyes open, as if her eyelids weighed a million pounds. The cart slowly rumbled closer, the horse's hoofbeats echoing loudly on the worn cobblestones. Daro jolted to attention as she noticed who was driving the cart - her squad commander, Arkvion Koraine! In all of her two years with the army of the Aldmeri Dominion, she'd never met a leader more intimidating - and more demanding - than him. A tall Altmer, seemingly only about 50 years old, he constantly berated his squad, and always expected the best out of them. As he approached and stopped at the gate, Daro snapped into a stiff salute.

"Dras'kay, trevan." She said, forgetting that most non-Khajiit have no idea how to speak Ta'agra.

"What? Speak Altmeris, imbecile! I don't have time for your savage mutterings." He replied, sounding angry as always.

Trying to ignore his obvious racism, Daro managed to stutter out, in her poor elvish, "G-Greetings, Sir. What's in the cart?"

"I could have you flayed just for asking, cat. But if you really want to know, it's just a prisoner from one of the rebel provincial militias, some lizard. Now, open the gate and let me in already!" He said, his voice raising to a yell towards the end.

"Y-Yes sir, my apologies." She stuttered out, walking in front of the cart and pushing open the large, wooden gate.

He said nothing more, but she could clearly hear him mumbling something about cats as the cart rumbled on. She watched it go, and quickly noticed a pale white, scaly tail sticking out of the back. Leaning further around the gate, she could see more clearly - the prisoner was a female Argonian, probably about 20-something, with ice-white scales, fancy silken clothes, and a black plume of feathers running down the center of her head, with two small horns emerging from the back of her head on both sides. She seemed to be either asleep or unconscious, and had a white blindfold tied around her eyes.

Later that night, Daro still couldn't get the prisoner she'd seen earlier that day off her mind - she seemed so familiar. Daro hadn't seen any Argonians since she lived in black Marsh during her childhood, but she certainly remembered being friends with one who was just as pale. She had to get to the bottom of this.

The camp's "prison" was nothing more than a small, decrepit stone building, with several guards posted around it, and one in front of the door. As she approached, she introduced herself to the short, tired-looking bosmer guarding the door.

"Halt. Who are you?" The guard said, his voice reeking of both fatigue and uncaringness.

"Hello. I'm Daro'Ahkaba - I've been sent to speak to the prisoners." She said in return, trying her best to sound official and commandeering.

"Oh, yea. They're right inside." He said.

" _Obviously."_ She thought to herself, staring at him intensely. She always remembered how her grandmother had been able to execute her will with a single, terrifying look, and she was trying her best to recreate this.

The guard continued. "You can go in. Knock on the door three times in a row for us to let you out, and yell if anything happens."

She nodded, and he stood aside, opening the door.


	11. Chapter 11 - An Unexpected Reunion

The inside of the building was just as dismal as the outside. Dark, dirty, cold, and damp, with rotting wooden floors, it was certainly a bad place to be. The only furniture inside was a large wooden table, surrounded by a few chairs, seemingly in the same state as the floor. The room only contained two prisoners - a large Nord man, sleeping heavily, and the Argonian Daro had seen earlier that day.

"Oh, hello. Come to see the dirty lizard and laugh?" Said the girl, glaring at her.

"Uh.. No? I just wanted to talk. This one is sorry if they upset you." Daro replied, her mouth curling into a frown as she gingerly sat in one of the chairs, hoping it didn't break beneath her weight as she adjusted the sword on her back.

"That's a pleasant change. Everyone else who's come in here just came to mock us. What brings you?" She said, lifting her head and wiping her eyes, red from crying.

"Actually... I'm not quite sure. You just look… familiar. Are you from Black Marsh?" Daro said, now realizing how strange this all sounded.

"Yes. What are you trying to get at?" She said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Were you, um, maybe friends with a Khajiit girl, who had to move away? One with white fur like mine?" Daro said, staring into the Argonian's dark slit pupils, surrounded by yellow irises.

As she asked this, Muz-Ja had a revelation. Her feathers perked up slightly and her eyes widened as she thought far back to her childhood; to the long, dreamily-distant days of playing in the marsh with her best friend, a white Khajiit girl named Daro. Then, to the time Daro's parents gave Muz-Ja a staff shortly after she discovered her magical ability on her 10th birthday, and saying goodbye for the last time when her family had to move back to Elsweyr, not even a year later.

Muz-Ja fully lifted her head, and stared at her. "Daro'Ahkaba?"

Daro smiled widely, and nodded slowly. She was giddy with excitement - she hadn't seen her best friend since they were 10! The two had met because they'd both been mocked and bullied for their unusual coloring - white members of either species are exceptionally rare.

Almost too quick to see, Muz-Ja had her arms around Daro in a tight hug, and she quickly returned it until both nearly squeezed the air out of each other.

"Where have you been? _How_ have you been? Why are you here? I have so many questions!" Daro said loudly, and making the Nord stir in his sleep. Noticing this, she quickly clamped her hand to her mouth to silence herself.

"You know what? Maybe we should go somewhere more… private?" Muz-Ja said quickly, removing Daro's hand from her mouth.

"Hold on a moment." she said, nodding in agreement.

Daro walked back to the door, the floorboards creaking under her, and gave the frail-looking door three gentle knocks. The guard quickly opened it, and eyed the both of them.

"Mhm... Yes?" He said, sounding slightly drunk.

"This one has orders to take this prisoner back to my quarters for further questioning." Daro replied, once again putting on her serious, stoic front.

"Oh, yeh. Go ahead." said the guard, stepping to the side and letting the two out.

As they walked out into the twilight, Daro leaned over and whispered in Muz-Ja's ear. "Hold on, this one has to make it look like this one is treating you badly so that they don't raise suspicion. I'm sorry."

Muz-Ja nodded softly before being jolted forward by Daro's surprising strength, displayed via her harshly grabbing and yanking Muz-Ja's arm, pulling her along and letting out a string of loud beratements. They soon reached the weather-beaten tent, and Daro quickly let go of her arm, the tent flap falling behind them with a small whooshing sound.


	12. Chapter 12 - Firelight Memories

The two talked for hours, late into the night. They were so focused on catching up, they hadn't even noticed it'd started to rain - hard.

"Yea, it was awesome! This one had that goblin in a headlock, and-" Daro said excitedly, before being interrupted by a loud crack of thunder.

This made the both of them jump. As they sat in silence, they could hear the pouring rain - pattering on the tent, shaking leaves from the trees, as well as the thunder rolling over the distant hills.

"Don't worry - the tent is immune to the rain." Daro said.

The tent was a high-quality one indeed, lavishly furnished with many blankets, finely patterned rugs, silk floor cushions, and an ornate moon-shaped Khajiit lantern hanging from the ceiling, casting a warm orange glow over their surroundings.

"It's getting pretty cold. Is the weather in Cyrodiil always like this?" Muz-Ja replied absentmindedly, drawing her a small blanket around herself.

"Not normally, no. Shouldn't you be used to this, though? It rains all the time in Argonia." Daro asked inquisitively. Despite her best efforts, she could still remember only fragments of her life in Black Marsh. Although she couldn't _actually_ remember the rain, she remembered being told that once by a merchant passing through her family's village in Elsweyr a few years ago.

"Yes, but… it was a warm rain - not like this. This rain is cold. It stings my scales." Muz-Ja replied, sticking one hand out into the rain for a moment before quickly drawing it back in, holding it to her side to warm it up again.

"Hmm…" Daro pondered this, watching the flickering light dance across the tent walls, casting shadows as they sat. "I'm sure you can stay in here tonight. This one'll have to take you back tomorrow morning, tho-"

"Wait. I need to ask - could you help me get out of here? I don't want to be a prisoner. I have a life, things to get back to, y'know." Muz-Ja quickly interrupted, realizing that now might be her only chance to segue into the topic.

Daro paused, thinking about this for a moment. "How? This one is not sure how she could…"

"You could go with me, you know." Muz-Ja said tentatively, looking at her with a steady, anxious gaze.

"You mean that? This one hadn't considered that.. She would have to pack her whole tent, as well as her father's… He can come too, yes?" She asked, tapping her fingers on her leg, now just as anxious.

"Your father is here?" Muz-Ja asked, remembering that he never really talked to her much, and spent a lot of his time either napping in the sun, or off somewhere in the market.

"Yes. This one has to get around somehow, no? Besides, he "didn't want his only daughter to go into a warzone alone!", so he insisted on coming with this one. He has a separate tent, the one to the right of ours. He may be stubborn, but he _is_ this one's ahnurr"

Daro's father, Najirr, was a Senche-Lion - a large, quadrupedal breed of Khajiit almost the same as a lion, but still a Khajiit all the same.

And so, the two of them hatched an escape plan.

They arose early the next morning, and Muz-Ja noticed the rain had stopped. As she sat up, she realized she hadn't even bothered to get out of her clothes before falling asleep. Almost instantly, Daro's hand was on her arm.

"Come on, this one has to get you back to the holding area!" She said under her breath, not wanting disturb the misty early-morning peace. Muz-Ja went along with it, and quickly went along with her back to the weather-worn house. As they approached, they noticed the guard from yesterday - asleep on his feet.

Daro opened the door ever so slowly, trying not to make any sound. They both cringed slightly as the door made a squeak, before she pushed Muz-Ja inside.


	13. Chapter 13 - A Hasty Escape

Muz-Ja sat there for hours, bored out of her mind. The Nord had moved during the night, and was now lying face-up on the floor. He only woke up a few times, and only stumbled around briefly before falling back asleep. First in the chair, then against the wall, and finally on the floor again. Night began to fall as she counted the hours, and she could hear the loud sounds of Summer crickets as light from the rising moon filtered in her window.

They had spent about an devising a plan the night prior. The idea they eventually came up with is that late at night, probably at about 11:00 PM, Daro would pack up both her and Najirr's tents, before coming and getting her out. Then, the two would ride through the front gate, and be free from there on!

As the moon was now high in the sky, Daro had just finished up, unbeknownst to Muz-Ja. She had been pacing and thinking about what could have happened for ten minutes, before eventually coming to a decision.

As Daro and Najirr approached, they came upon a strange sight. Along with the fact that the normal guards, or _any_ guards for that matter, were to be seen, Muz-Ja had tried to climb out of one of the old, broken windows of the cottage after picking all the glass out of it, but had gotten stuck halfway through.

"Xuth… A little help?" She said sheepishly, giving an embarrassed smile and holding up her hands for assistance.

The two pulled her out, and she landed on the ground with a small crack, the window frame now slightly larger and bent in the middle. She quickly dusted herself off and hopped onto Najirr's back behind Daro, not used to anything other than her Guar.

Soon enough, they were off. As they passed the gate and left the fort, they all saw something they hadn't accounted for - guards. A patrol made up of a few tall Altmer were standing near the gate, torches in hand. As they saw her, they quickly stepped into the road, the leader holding up his hand as an obvious sign to stop.

"Halt, cat! What are you doing out, and why isn't that lizard in bindings?" He said, the moonlight glinting off of his shoulder-length silver hair as he glared at them.

Muz-Ja had gone even paler than normal, and Daro sat, mouth open, trying desperately to think of something, _anything_ , to say. Suddenly and without warning, Najirr began to run. He charged through the group, knocking the captain and several others to the ground in a cloud of dust as he bounded down the road, both Daro and Muz-Ja bouncing wildly on his back.

They stopped after a couple minutes, slowing to a walk as they looked back, checking for any sight of the elves' torches.

"Maybe we should stay off the road for tonight, yes?" Daro said uneasily, breaking the silence.

"That's a good idea. Let's do that." Muz-Ja replied, looking down at Najirr as he walked briskly, his powerful legs kicking up small clouds of dust with every step. "By the way, I forgot to ask - do you remember me?"

" _Jat, ahziss anpa. Rik dejka ahziss rajas fa di ahziss ja'khajiit jai'do trevana?"_ He said in deep-voiced, gravely Ta'agra. As Daro translated for her, she smiled and patted his soft, yellow side.

"Could you tell him I say thanks?" She said. "I'm afraid I _still_ don't know any Ta'agra."

Daro nodded, and leaned down to her father's ear. " _Roj tonshe jer, Ahnurr._ " This made him smile, but nothing more was said for another hour, until they came across a ring of bushes, just far enough away from the road and well-hidden.

"Should we set up here?" Muz-Ja said, glancing back to make sure nothing had fallen off during the trip. Najirr nodded softly and walked to the spot, laying down so that they may get off.

They quickly set up the tent for the night and rolled out the rugs and other furniture, clearing a small spot and starting a fire to keep warm. To break the silence, Najirr ended up telling a story about one of their childhood escapades before Muz-Ja and Daro both began drifting off to sleep, eventually leaning into his mane for warmth as he lay down, content.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Dream

Muz-Ja again found herself somewhere else, somewhere different yet very familiar. She felt disconnected from what was happening, as if she was watching the events before her play out somewhere a long distance away. Before long, though, she could tell that she was standing at the base of a great tree, its centuries-old branches hanging with vines and a thick moss, some of which even reached down to the water far below.

It was only a few minutes before that the two had been playing a simple game of tag, before Daro scurried up the tree to get away. Muz-Ja had tried to follow. She wasn't as good a climber as Daro, and quickly fell back into the shallow marsh. She tried a few more times to no avail, before deciding to wait her out. Muz-Ja was standing, her body submerged in the cool marsh water up to her knees as she glared up into the dark foliage. There, sitting among the branches and leaves in the highest reaches of the tree, was Daro'asa. Her white fur stood on end as she looked down, and her eyes were wide in fear. The drop _looked_ like a mile to her, even though it was only about 10 feet.

Muz-Ja racked her brain for some sort of solution.

" _If I go to my parents to get help, they'd get angry because I let her get up there in the first place. I could steal a ladder, but I don't think that would go there well. I don't even know where to find a ladder.._ "

After mentally debunking all her possible plans, she could only think of one thing to do.

"Muz-Ja…?" Daro said timidly from her perch.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get you down. Okay?" Replied the equally-anxious Muz-Ja, looking up with a worried expression. Taking a deep breath, she loudly said "You're going to have to jump down, so I can catch you!"

"A-Are you sure? This one thinks that doesn't sound very safe…" said Daro, staring down at her.

"Yes, I'm sure! It'll be just like in _The Littlest Scrib_ , remember?" Muz-Ja said, holding out her short arms to catch the frightened Khajiit.

 _The Littlest_ _Scrib_ was their favorite book, and they read it together all the time.

"O-Okay.." Daro said through gritted teeth, her claws digging into the wood as she looked down at her friend.

And with that, she jumped. The few seconds felt like an eternity to her. But, soon enough, she landed in Muz-Ja's arms with a small thud. As the two smiled at each other, Muz-Ja slowly, gently set her down, and she quickly sprang back to her feet, giving Muz-Ja a small hug.

"Thank you." mewled Daro, smiling widely as she pulled away.

"Y-Yea, no problem." Muz-Ja replied, giving a small smile as her cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Ready to go back?"

Daro nodded, and the two set off running down the mud path to Daro's house.

The house was atypical for Argonia, and stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other houses with its sloped, pointed wooden roof on top of 4 wooden walls, that on top of a tall, raised foundation, as is characteristic of Khajiit houses. Daro always insisted that they took it with them from their old home in Elsweyr, but her parents always said that she was just a cub then, too young to remember when they built it. Although this made sense, Muz-Ja chose to believe Daro anyways.

By the time they arrived, they were both panting and out of breath. A warm light shone from the large front windows and onto the street, illuminating the front steps as they ran up them, rapping on the front door. They stood patiently, and it was only a moment until the door swung open. Standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light from within, was a tall Khajiit, his fur tinged with gray. "Ah, _dras'kay ahziss ja'khajiit_!" He said, wrapping Daro in as much of a hug as he could before lifting her by the scruff of her neck with his powerful jaws, setting her to sit on his shoulders. "And hello, Muz-Ja!" He continued, turning to her.

" _Ahnurr_ , can Muz-Ja spend the night, pleeeeeeeeeeeease? Her parents said it would be okay!" Daro'asa pleaded, rocking back and forth on his shoulders, making him sway with her weight.

He thought about this for a moment, before turning back into the doorway for a moment. He was looking towards his wife, Daro's mother, to which he asked a quiet question in Ta'agra neither of the children could quite make out. Quickly turning back and smiling up at Daro before shifting his view back to Muz-Ja, he nodded softly, saying "Of course that's okay, dear. Come on inside, Muz-Ja - we're just starting dinner."

Muz-Ja entered, her hands clasped together as her child-sized leather boots made small swishing sounds on the sanded wood floor. She climbed into the chair next to Daro's at the dinner table and sat. Shortly after, Daro's mother walked by and set down two bowls of some Khajiit soup, one for each of them. The family soon began to eat, practically shoving their faces into their bowls. Muz-Ja was less eager, though, and stared into her soup for a while before gingerly taking a sip and picking out just the bits of meat. The two girls quickly began to play a betmer version of Footsy, poking and pushing each other with their tails before Daro's mother shot them both a glare from the side of her eye, which made them stop instantly. Also there were two other relatives of Daro's - her uncle Baajirr, and her aunt Zahava, both housecat-like Alfiq Khajiit, who were sitting across the table alongside Daro's father.

Soon enough the two of them were getting ready for bed, Daro's parents already asleep in their room. As Muz-Ja finished putting on her pajamas, Daro had already nested herself into her sleeping bag, both of which were made of fine Elven silk from the Summerset Isles, or so she claimed. She slowly climbed into the other, turning off the small lantern that sat between them.

"Goodnight, Daro."

"Goodnight, Muz-Ja."


End file.
